Companies apply for nearly 70 areas to build wind farms in the Colombian Caribbean Sea

As an initial assessment of the first process for the generation of wind energy in maritime areas in Latin America, the participating companies nominated 69 areas that will enter a validation stage.

Once the suitability of the proposal has been verified, companies may make offers on areas of interest, with the option of awarding a maximum of two to each of them.

"The Government is working in a coordinated manner to carry out the necessary analyses in order to verify that the nominated areas are suitable for bidding," said the Minister of Mines and Energy, Andrés Camacho.

This review will allow interested parties to define "their strategies for submitting bids and ensure that offshore wind energy materializes in the country and that communities benefit from the introduction of new energy sources, thus continuing to advance with the energy transition."

It is projected that the submission of bids will take place by the end of May and the number of proposals competing for the areas of the process will be known.

Interested companies can submit bids on areas of up to 270 square kilometers, for projects with a minimum installed capacity of 200 megawatts.

These projects will be carried out mainly in shallow and deep water maritime areas in the departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, southern Magdalena and northern Sucre.

The National Government's goal for this first competitive offshore wind power process is to achieve the award of a minimum installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

"The results of this first phase of the nomination stage of the process confirm the high level of interest generated by the renewable energy segment in Colombia, demonstrating the private sector's commitment to the country's energy transition and the development of clean and sustainable energy sources," said Orlando Velandia, president of the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH).

He also said that offshore wind energy represents a unique opportunity to diversify the country's energy matrix, generate employment and mitigate the impact of climate change.

Meanwhile, Vice Admiral John Fabio Giraldo, Director General of Maritime, stated that "Colombia continues its exercise of diversifying its energy matrix, where maritime and coastal areas are of significant interest. Dimar will support the consolidation of this competitive process by making its knowledge available to the country."